How I Met Your Father has finally come to fruition after numerous spin off attempts and 8 years after How I Met Your Mother controversially ended. The new series focuses on Sophie, telling her son in the year 2050 how she met his dad. She starts off by telling him, she’s had a few glasses of wine and will keep in the “sexy bits”. Unlike the children in How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM), Sophie’s son is in college, making this a little more acceptable.
Spoilers Ahead!!!
What Makes How I Met Your Father Different?
How I Met Your Father (HIMYF), so far seems to be an entirely different from its predecessor except for the form of storytelling. HIMYM excelled at telling a fluid story, in the past with flashforwards and flashbacks simultaneously. HIMYF is doing pretty well in the first few episodes.
One key difference between HIMYM & HIMYF is not seeing Sophie’s son in the future. We see older Sophie, played by Kim Cattrall instead of Hilary Duff who plays current Sophie in 2022. At first this really bothered me. But the more I’ve thought about this decision, it feels like the right call.
At the end of the first episode, older Sophie recalls that she met the father that very night. She joins a friend group consisting of 3 guys that same day, so it seems likely one of them could be the father.
Sometimes, the characters go all in on a joke and it rambles on for like a minute and it isn’t even funny. But the good news is, this has only happened a couple of times in the first three episodes.
What Does How I Met Your Father Take From HIMYM?
Surprisingly, they don’t take too much from the previous series besides, the form of storytelling. As of right now, the only reference to HIMYM, is the swords and the apartment the main characters received from an old married couple in the “Wesleyan Alumni Group”. Other than that, the spin-off borrows the theme song from the original. How I Met Your Father is shaping up to be its own show, without constant connections to the past.
Characters
This show has a good mix bag of characters. Sophie, is a romantic who is desperate to find love even after 88 Tinder dates. She’s lives with her best friend, Valentina, an aspiring stylist. They briefly live with Valentina’s new boyfriend Charlie, who is clueless about New York City since he just moved from London after meeting her. Jesse doesn’t believe in love anymore, after a proposal gone wrong. His sister, Ellen has also just moved to the city after her divorce. Jesse’s best friend is Sid, owner and operator of Pemberton’s, a local bar. Sid is struggling in a long distance relationship with a surgeon living in Los Angeles.
The main characters are very entertaining to watch. Their on-screen chemistry is great, and it’s difficult to not care for them already just four episodes in.
What Does HIMYF Do Well?
How I Met Your Father has a lot of characteristics a modern sitcom needs. It’s essentially based around real-world problems in regards to the modern-day dating scene. That’s just one of the things making it so relatable.
Another necessary element of any show, is to be able to invoke emotion in the audience. HIMYF is extraordinary at this. When Charlie and Ellen finally decide becoming roommates is the best option, it really made me feel good and happy for these characters.
These are the components for a long-lasting, and entertaining show.
TLDR;
How I Met Your Father is a great addition to the numerous selections Hulu has to offer. And although we’re only four episodes in, it’s hard to not see this show have a future. There is also a great character dynamic. Really excited to see what else this show has in store for the rest of the first season!
If you want a modern feel-good show in your life, try this one out. It doesn’t disappoint!